Disposable syringe



July 23, 1963 J. OSULLlVAN 3,

DISPOSABLE SYRINGE Filed Jan. '7, 1958 T fi' a 503/ 32 Z5 7 INIVENTOR.

ham/Er United atent time 3,098,482 DISFOSABLE SYRINGE James OSullivan, Adamston, NJ. Filed Jan. 7, 1958, Ser. No. 707,583 1 Claim. (Cl. 128-220) The invention disclosed herein relates to hypodermic syringes of the disposable type.

General objects of the invention are to provide a syringe of this character in a simple, inexpensive form of construction, compact in arrangement, small in size, complete and ready for use without holders or other accessories.

Special objects of the invention are to provide a syringe in a sterile condition having only a single seal which can be readily broken and which when released will enable the syringe to be instantly used without further preparation.

A further important object of the invention is to furnish the syringe in a completely sealed one piece container in the nature of an ampoule which will reach the user in that one piece sealed condition, guaranteeing sterility by its integral character.

Special objects of the invention are to construct the syringe so that it may be used for both aspiration and injection and so small and so furnished with proper finger grips that it may be held and operated in the fingers of one hand.

Further special objects of the invention are to use but few essential parts and to so construct them that metal fastenings or the like are not required.

Also it is an object of the invention to so construct and arrange the parts that an ordinary tubular needle may be used, eliminating the need heretofore existing of using needle hubs and the like.

Special objects further are to so construct the syringe that only a single closure plug will be necessary and to so design this plug that as a step in the manufacture of the syringe it may be set to properly fit the barrel.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a syringe in a form which may be used in either empty or filled condition and which will carry readily readable means for indicating or determining contents of the syringe.

A further object of the invention is to provide the syringe in a form in which contained medicament will be closed off from the needle up to the moment it is to be used and then be made accessible by a short movement of the plunger carrying the needle, to couple the plunger to the piston and in that act pierce the piston with the needle.

Other desirable objects attained by the invention and further novel features constituting the invention are set forth and will appear in the course of the following specification.

In the drawing accompanying and forming part of the specification several different embodiments of the invention are illustrated.

The structure, however, may be modified and changed as regards the immediate illustration, all within the true intent and scope of the invention as hereinafter defined and claimed.

FIGURE 1 in the drawing is a broken longitudinal sectional view of a one piece container form of the syringe in the integrally sealed sterile condition.

FIGURE 2 is a part sectional collective view showing the cover end portion separated from the barrel end portion and the sheath removed from the needle, putting the syringe in condition for injection of contents.

FIGURE 3 is a broken part longitudinal sectional vie-w of a variation in which cover and barrel of the syringe are made up of separate parts, joined in end to end abutting relation by a surrounding readily removable seal, this syringe being shown in sealed empty sterile condition.

FIGURE 4 is a broken part sectional view of a modification in which medicament is sealed in the barrel by the piston forming element and the plunger for operating the piston has a movement necessary to couple it to the piston, which movement causes the needle to penetrate a wall separating contents from the needle. In this construction the cover is shown as an elongated sleeve sealed at its end to the end flange of the barrel.

FIGURE 5 is a broken sectional view illustrating completion of the coupling movement and piercing of the piston wall.

FIGURE 6 is a side elevation of a form of the invention in which the cover for the needle is engaged and sealed over the projecting stem portion of the plunger, this cover appearing in section.

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate the one piece container form of the invention as made up of a single length of uniform diameter tubing integrally closed at opposite ends at 7 and 8 and having mid length a scored or otherwise easily separable joint 9, defining a syringe barrel ll) at one end and a cover 11 at the opposite end.

A piston forming plug 12 is confined within the barrel end and this is provided with a projecting operating stem or plunger 13. While plunger and piston forming elements may possibly be made in one piece it is usually more practical to make these as separate parts, with the projecting plunger of stiff rigid material and the plug of resilient material such as soft rubber.

This arrangement makes it possible to provide a connection between the two by which the plug may be expanded to the extent necessary to compensate for slight variations in size of the barrel.

Such a connection is illustrated in FIG. 1 as a taper screw 14 on the inner end of the plunger engaged ina correspondingly tapered screw threaded socket 15 in the plug.

In the course of manufacture, after inserting the plug in the tube, when the cover end at 8 is still open, the plun er then, in screwing it into the plug, may be turned just far enough to expand the plug into firm piston fitting engagement in the barrel.

The needle 1'6 is shown as a plain tubular needle extending through and affixed in the plunger and projecting to a proper extent from the free end of the plunger. This projecting portion of the needle may be covered by a removable sheath 17 when the syringe is furnished in the filled or loaded condition.

The barrel and the plunger are each constructed for holding and manipulation by the fingers.

In the illustration, the closed flat end 7 of the barrel forms a thumb press and finger grip and the projecting portion of the plunger has parallel annular shoulders 18 and 19 spaced approximately a finger width apart to provide the grip for fingers holding and actuating that part.

Thus in service the closed end of the barrel may be gripped between thumb and third finger while the annular shoulders 18, 19 of the plunger are gripped between first and second fingers and the syringe then be held and operated all by fingers of the same hand.

The projecting portion of the plunger is shown as of reduced diameter at 20 between the finger grip shoulders 18, 19 and the body portion of the plunger as of slightly less diameter than the containing tube so as to allow sufiicient bending to effect separation of the cover from the barrel portion of the tube.

This construction enables ready separation of the cover from the barrel portion of the tube, as shown in FIG. 2, whereupon after removal of the sheath 17 covering the needle the syringe is ready for instant use.

The modification shown in FIG. 3 illustrates the fact that the cover, here designated 1111, may be made as a separately formed sleeve and be engaged in end to end relation with the independentlly formed barrel 10a and be sealed and rernovably secured in that relation by a surrounding r-ing 21 of rubber, tape or other suitable sealing and securing medium.

With this construction it is only necessary to remove or release the seal 21 hermetically securing the cover to the end of the barrel.

The closed end 7 of the barrel preferably may be substantialy flat as shown to serve as a practical thumb press and finger grip.

To further faciltate such use the wall forming this closed end may be extended as an annular flange 22.

This construction has the advantage of providing a wider base by which the syringe may be stood upright on a table or other support but does add slightly to the overall diameter of the syringe, requiring special packing attention and the like.

The flat finger hold without the laterally extended flange, such as shown in FIG. 3, possesses advantages in that the fixed diameter can be kept down to that of the tube, facilitating packing and enabling syringes to be packed in closer space.

FIG. 3 is illustrative further of the fact that the syringe may be sealed in-the sterile empty condition, instead of filled, as first shown.

A scale of graduations or other marks 23 to indicate volume or contents may be provided on the plunger to register with an index on the barrel, such as the end edge of the barrel. This scale is particularly desirable tor empty syringes or may, if desired, be used on filled syringes, such as first shown.

It is considered that the plunger may preferably be made of plastic. With such material it is a simple and inexpensive matter to impress or otherwise apply desired contents-or "other markings which will be visible usually through the barrel and cover which in general will be made of glass.

In the form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the cover there designated 24 is elongated and made of slightly larger diameter to engage fiully over the barrel and extend into abutting relation with the finger grip flange at the closed end of the barrel.

In this relation it may be sealed as with a metal or plastic or by a tear seal, such as indicated at 25, surrounding and tying the bead26 at the end of the cover sleeve to the companion bead or flange 221: on the barrel 1.011.

These views, FIGS. 4 and 5, illustrate the feature of sealing the medicament or other content 27 in the barrel by the piston plug 28 and breaking this seal only when the plunger'29'is forced inward to effect an operating connection of the plunger with the plug.

Specifically, the plunger isshown as having an undercut head 30' at the inner end of the same adapted to be sprung into a correspondingly shaped socket 31 in the piston, and the inner end of the needle is shown as disposed to pierce a partition wall 32in the piston when the coupling between plunger and piston is completed, the latterresult indicated in FIG.

6 illustrates a modification of the cover construction, embodying a short cover sleeve 33, possibly of rubber or plastic, shaped to fit or 'sufliciently elastic to be fitted in sealing engagement over the tapered stem extension 34 of the projecting end of the plunger. This has advantages of simplicity and lowcost and means that it is onlynecessary to slip this protecting sleeve oif the plunger to have the syringe in usable condition.

The linger grip flange on the projecting portion of the plunger provides sensual means for judging relative movement of the piston and barrel and hence aspiring or injecting action of the syringe.

If desired more than one such indicating flange may be provided on the plunger. Thus in FIGS. 4 and 5 the plunger is shown as having an inner flange or ridge 35 positioned to be enagageable with the open end of the barrel to act as a stop limiting inward movement of the piston in the barrel. This is a safety precaution preventing accidental engagement of the inner end of the needle with the closed end wall of the barrel.

The engagement of the open end of the cover with the projecting flange on the closed end of the barrel serves as a stop to prevent engagement of the cover with the tipof the needle.

Sealing of the cover to the barrel, as heretofore indicated, may be effected in different Ways. Thus with the elongated form of cover sleeve shown in FIG. 4, a seal may be eflected rby interposing a resilient Washer at the abutting end of the cover sleeve and barrel flange.

The glazing of the end of the cover sleeve may effect suflicient flaring and rounding to enable engagement over a thin sealing washer or plastic applied to the barrel at the base of the finger grip flange.

While :each form of the invention has special advantages the one piece ampoule container form of syringe illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 has unusual advantages in that with the cover forming a prolongation of the barrel it is smaller and all of the same uniform diameter. The one piece integral construction assures permanent protection. Manufacture of this unit is quite simple, it being necessary only to use a single length of barrel forming tubing and to head that up at the syringe barrel end, after which the plunger carrying the needle may be inserted through the other end, with or without material to be contained and then the open end closed over the plunger and needle and the sealed container scored or otherwise weakened at the line of demarcation between the barrel and cover forming sections.

The medicament is so thoroughly protected in this integral form container that it will last indefinitely and the syringe reaches the user ready to use with assurance of absolute sterility. The needle may be aflixed in the plunger, particularly when the plunger is made of plastic, by suitable adhesive, cement or snug fit, or if desired may be molded in place in the plunger. In many cases it may be desirable to place a sheath over the end of the needle, particularly when the syringe is furnished prefilled, as in the illustration, FIG. 1.

I claim:

An empty sterilized completely sealed ready to use disposable syringe comprising a transparent syringe barrel having a closed end provided with an annularly projecting finger grip forming flange and open at the opposite end, a piston operable in said barrel, an operating plunger connected with said piston and projecting from the open end of the barrel, said plunger being of plastic material and carrying graduations on that portion of the samewithin the barrel and visible through the transparent barrel, a tubular needle carried by said plunger, said needle extending from the piston through the plunger and projecting beyond the end of the plunger, the projecting portion of said plunger having a flange engageable with the open end of the barrel to close the open end of the barrel and limit inward movement of the plunger in the barrel, a second flange on the projecting portion of the plunger spaced a distance from the first mentioned flange and the plunger between said flanges being of reduced diameter for admitting fingers for operating the syringe between said flanges, a cover over the projecting portion of the needle, said cover being readily removable toexpose the needle and permit free operation of the syringe by said finger grip forming flanges on the barrel and the plunger and readily releasable sealing means removably securing said cover in said protective position over the needle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 977,952 Heilmann et a1. Dec. 6, 1910 1,503,220 Wedig July 29, 1924 2,254,449 Rasmussen Sept. 2, 1941 10 

